Cat Depot Announces Special Events & Promotions For October 2016

Sarasota, Fla. – (September 29, 2016) – Cat Depot, a feline rescue, adoption and education center in Sarasota has announced their special events and promotions for the month of October.

Visitors are always encouraged to stop by Cat Depot where they can interact with the cats one-on-one and hopefully find a new feline friend to join their family. The adoption center is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sponsored Reduced Fee Adoptions for FIV+ Cats: October 1-31, 2016

PetMeds Cares has sponsored reduced adoption fees for several long-term Cat Depot residents with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV+). The public is encouraged to come and find their new forever friend. Cats with FIV make wonderful pets and FIV is not contagious to humans or other animals.

Foster Orientation: Sunday, October 2, 2016 | 1 to 2 p.m.

Cat Depot would not be able to save so many lives without its dedicated foster parents. The foster care program provides temporary safe and loving homes to kittens and cats until they can return to our center and be adopted by their new family. Fostering is eligible for teen community service hours and is a great family project.

Animals enter the foster program because they are not ready for adoption, either because of behavioral reasons or because they are too young, sick, or injured. Animals that have been in the shelter for extended stays can also benefit from time in a stable and nurturing home environment.

It’s fun and easy to become a foster parent – to register for the one-hour course, visit:

The program is designed to teach volunteers, adopters and Cat Depot guests the basic skills to safely introduce cats and kittens to walking on a harness.

In a shelter environment, we provide as much stimulation for the cats and kittens as possible to reduce stress and boredom. Teaching cats and kittens to walk on a leash not only provides stimulation, it improves social skills and increases their ability to adapt to new environments.

Florida State Animal Response Coalition and Cat Depot would like to offer you an opportunity to take our Awareness Level Small Animal Sheltering class. This class will give you the expertise and practical experience required to become a professional disaster animal responder. The Awareness Level Small Animal Emergency Sheltering class is certified by the Florida Department of Emergency Management and is required to respond in Florida to help companion animals during a disaster. For more information or to register, please email us at info@catdepot.org.

In celebration of having spayed and neutered over 1,000 community cats in the past year, Cat Depot will be hosting our first ever Neuterpalooza, in partnership with Alley Cat Allies’ National Feral Cat Day. In addition to neutering fifteen pre-selected community cats on October 16, staff will be hiding stuffed cats around the shelter for children to find, illustrating that “community cats” are everywhere, you just have to look. Children finding a stuffed cat, will be given an “Honorary Trapper” badge to take home. Other activities will include a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) information table with clinic and shelter medical staff and volunteers on hand to educate visitors about Community Cats and TNR.

About Allie Cat Allies’ National Feral Cat Day: Alley Cat Allies launched National Feral Cat Day in 2001 to raise awareness about feral (also called community) cats, promote Trap-Neuter-Return, and empower and mobilize the millions of compassionate Americans who care for them. For more information, please visit http://nationalferalcatday.org/about-national-feral-cat-day/

Community Food Bank: Saturday, October 29, 2016 | 12 to 2 p.m.

Cat Depot’s Community Food Bank takes place on the last Saturday of every month with check-in beginning at 11:45 a.m. and food distribution starting promptly at 12 p.m. Basic requirements must be met to be eligible for food donation.

The Community Food Bank distributed over 15,500 lbs. of dry food and over 8,700 cans of wet food in 2015 to those supporting free-roaming cats and those in need of food for their personal pets. Cat Depot provides food for 240 personal pets and over 500 community/free-roaming cats in Sarasota and Manatee Counties on a monthly basis. The Community Cat Program continues to grow, as does the need for food. Donations are always welcome in the form of dry or wet cat food and be dropped off to the shelter during normal operating hours.

Cat Depot, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) no-kill, free-roaming facility, is recognized for its progressive design and commitment to helping homeless, abandoned and injured animals. Cat Depot’s mission is to save lives, find loving homes, and provide the resources and education needed to improve the destiny of homeless cats. Cat Depot supports more than 130 cats and kittens on any given day.

Open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cat Depot operates the Rose Durham Cat Care Clinic, open to the public by appointment only, Mondays-Saturdays. Cat Depot is located at 2542 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34234. For more information, visit www.catdepot.org, or call (941) 366-2404.